Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Ephesians 6:13

"Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand." — Ephesians 6:13 (ASV)

Because the warfare in which Christians are engaged is on the scale described in v.12, the command to take advantage of the “full armor of God” is reiterated from v.11. The verb, though translated “put on,” is a different one from that in v.11; here it means “take up, assume” (GK 377). Thus, when the battle is at its fiercest, the soldiers of Christ will still be able to hold their line even against the most determined attack (i.e., “the day of evil”). When the emergency is over, it will be found that not an inch of territory has been yielded. Christians will “have done everything,” not only in preparing for the conflict but also in pursuing it.